A transfer station is known in which a box frame connects a scraper-chain face conveyor a scraper-chain gate conveyor. The top run of the gate conveyor is arranged below the top run of the face conveyor. The face conveyor has an opening in the floor or tray for allowing material to pass to the top run of the gate conveyor. A baffle plate cover, arranged in front of a chain drum of the face conveyor serves to convey any fines entrained by the scraper-chain assembly of the face conveyor from the top run into the bottom run of the face conveyor. Transfer stations of this type are known from U.S. Pat. No. 4,673,079, DE-PS 26 00 999 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,766,992. The box frame forms the common machine frame of the face conveyor and of the gate conveyor extending transversely thereto. The material is discharged from the face conveyor into the gate conveyor inside the box frame. The individual runs of the face conveyor and of the gate conveyor are arranged so as to intersect alternately within the box frame so that the top run of the gate conveyor is located between the top run and the bottom run of the face conveyor. Material is discharged from the top run of the face conveyor via the opening in the conveying floor or tray thereof into the top run of the gate conveyor located directly below it, optionally with the assistance of a fender. Any fines which are entrained by the scraper chain assembly of the face conveyor over the opening in its tray are conveyed at the chain drum of the face conveyor via the baffle plate cover into the bottom run thereof and are discharged here via an opening in the floor or tray of the bottom run into the closed bottom run of the gate conveyor so that they can be raised into the top run thereof via the reversal of the gate conveyor and can be carried off therein together with the remaining material. The driven chain drum of the face conveyor is mounted in the box frame or in an attachable housing thereof and is surrounded by the baffle plate cover.
During use, the chain drum of the face conveyor and the space receiving it must be accessible for maintenance or cleaning purpose, for example for eliminating blockages at the transfer station from the top run to bottom run of the face conveyor. This can be achieved by designing the baffle plate cover as a screwed-on mounting plate. The effort involved in releasing the screw connections, removing the baffle plate and screwing it on again is considerable and the cramped conditions in a typical mine working aggravate the situation.
An object of the invention is to modify the design of the transfer station simply such that the chain drum of the face conveyor and the space receiving it is easily accessible from the exterior at any time without difficulties and without complicated mounting work.